Many dispensers have been suggested for dispensing sealant or caulking compounds from cartridges, and these usually involve some sort of holder or gun that advances the plunger through the cartridge. The invention involves recognition of a simple and economical way of eliminating the dispenser gun and using simple dispenser components that are releasably attachable to a series of disposable cartridges. The dispenser mechanism involved is the type using a threaded rod turned by a knob for advancing a threaded plunger, and although this type of dispenser was suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 2,744,664, the invention goes beyond this in simplifying and economizing on the structural elements involved and making dispenser components that are reusable on a series of disposable containers. The invention aims not only at eliminating separate dispenser guns, but reducing the cost and increasing the efficiency and convenience of manual dispensers for disposable cartridges.